Ci protein, short for Cubitus interruptus, is a

zinc finger A zinc finger is a small protein structural motif that is characterized by the coordination of one or more zinc ions (Zn2+) in order to stabilize the fold. It was originally coined to describe the finger-like appearance of a hypothesized struct ...

containing

transcription factor In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. The fu ...

involved in the

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

signaling pathway In biology, cell signaling (cell signalling in British English) or cell communication is the ability of a cell to receive, process, and transmit signals with its environment and with itself. Cell signaling is a fundamental property of all cellula ...

. In the absence of a signal to the Hedgehog signaling pathway, the Ci protein is cleaved and destroyed in

proteasome Proteasomes are protein complexes which degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds. Enzymes that help such reactions are called proteases. Proteasomes are part of a major mechanism by w ...

s. It isn't, however, completely destroyed; part of the protein survives and acts as a repressor in the

nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom * Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...

, keeping genes responsive to the Hedgehog signal silent.

Degradation of Ci

The degradation of Ci protein depends on a large multiprotein complex, which contains a serine/threonine kinase of unknown function, an

anchoring protein An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

that binds to microtubules (to keep the Ci protein out of the nucleus) and an adaptor protein. When the Hedgehog signaling pathway is turned on, the Ci

proteolysis Proteolysis is the breakdown of proteins into smaller polypeptides or amino acids. Uncatalysed, the hydrolysis of peptide bonds is extremely slow, taking hundreds of years. Proteolysis is typically catalysed by cellular enzymes called protease ...

is suppressed and the unprocessed CI protein enters the nucleus, where it activates the transcription of its target genes. Ci undergoes complete or partial degradation in the cells, the detailed molecular mechanism is poorly understood. It has been reported that an AAA ATPase Ter94 complex and K11/K48 ubiquitin chains are involved in the selection of Ci degradation.

Target genes

* The ''Wingless'' protein in

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...

, which is crucial to the embryogenesis of the fruit fly, and acts through the

Wnt signaling pathway The Wnt signaling pathways are a group of signal transduction pathways which begin with proteins that pass signals into a cell through cell surface receptors. The name Wnt is a portmanteau created from the names Wingless and Int-1. Wnt signaling ...

. * The ''Patched'' receptor protein of the

Hedgehog signaling pathway The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a signaling pathway that transmits information to embryonic cells required for proper cell differentiation. Different parts of the embryo have different concentrations of hedgehog signaling proteins. The pathwa ...

, which production acts as a

negative feedback Negative feedback (or balancing feedback) occurs when some function (Mathematics), function of the output of a system, process, or mechanism is feedback, fed back in a manner that tends to reduce the fluctuations in the output, whether caused by ...

, since the resulting increase in Patched protein on the cell surface inhibits the Hedgehog pathway.

References

External links

*
''Drosophila'' ''cubitus interruptus'' - The Interactive Fly
{{Transcription factors Transcription factors Hedgehog signaling pathway